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A detail of a logo on one of the motorcycles seized by Sheriff's deputies and ATF agents during a sweep that resulted in numerous arrests involving the Mongols motorcycle gang. (Staff Photo by Keith Durflinger)

Motorcycle club members rally Saturday, March 29, 2013 at The House Lounge in Maywood in support of the Mongols who are facing a federal trial seeking to take away their trademark patch. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz/Pasadena Star-News)

SANTA ANA >> A U.S. District Court judge this week dismissed a federal indictment by which the government sought to seize control of the Mongols Motorcycle Club’s iconic logo.

Federal Judge David O. Carter granted a defense motion for dismissal Wednesday filed on behalf of Mongols by attorneys Joe Yanny and Elliot Min of the Los Angeles-based law firm Yanny and Smith, court documents show.

Federal prosecutors obtained the indictment in February 2013, alleging the Mongols logo, often seen on the patches on the distinctive leather vests worn by club members, was subject to government forfeiture under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

Yanny commended the judge in the case, adding he could not recall another instance of a federal indictment being dismissed by a judge.

“It took a lot of guts for this judge to do what he did. He had to go against the grain,” he said. “He was a courageous enough man to do the right thing. It restores my faith in the system.”

Prosecutors asserted the Mongols’ logo was subject to forfeiture because the club is a criminal organization which uses the logo “to identify its members and facilitate the coordination of criminal activity,” according to Carter’s order.

“We are reviewing the ruling and will consider pursuing an appeal,” U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman Thom Mrozek said.

Yanny said Carter’s ruling leaves the Mongols on solid legal footing to combat any further litigation, and he’s confident any appeal will be unsuccessful.

In his 23-page ruling, Carter found the government had failed to show the required elements for prosecution under the RICO statute.

RICO prosecutions require that a specific person or entity be charged with crimes that are committed through a separate criminal enterprise. But Carter found the federal government’s assertion the Mongols Nation is an entity that conducts criminal activity through a separate enterprise, the Mongols gang, amounted to “a distinction without a difference.”

“There is simply no substance to the Mongols Gang enterprise independent of Mongols Nation, an association of its leadership and official membership,” Carter wrote.

Having determined the indictment was insufficient, Carter declined to rule on the other principal arguments made by the Mongols.

The Mongols had also argued their logo was constitutionally protected as a collective membership mark, and that the organization, rather than individual people, is not capable of committing “intent crimes,” such as murder or assault, Yanny said.

“I’m very happy about the result,” Yanny said.

But the judge declined to order sanctions against the prosecution, which Mongols attorneys sought due to allegations of prosecutorial misconduct.

“While the indictment is legally deficient for the reasons explained above, this does not demonstrate that the action is vexatious, meaning that the Government acted with ‘ill intent,’ ” Carter wrote.

The previous judge assigned to the case, Judge Otis Wright II, recused himself from the case in May, after Mongols attorneys filed a motion seeking a new judge, alleging Wright had demonstrated bias against the Mongols.

The indictment filed in February 2013, came on the heels of another federal case in which 79 Mongols members pleaded guilty to a variety of criminal charges following a six-state operation targeting the Mongols known as “Operation Black Rain.”

Brian Day has covered crime and breaking news for the Southern California News Group since 2007. He’s a graduate of California State University, Fullerton and Cerritos College in Norwalk. He loves dogs and has a pet German shepherd, which in turn, has a pet cat. Brian is a local news junkie, a licensed drone pilot and a part-time science geek with an unfortunate predilection for puns.